Thank you to Aragorn II Elessar for his help with this chapter.
Ellie Bishop: Yep. Oh tell me about it. Apparently, it would kill the MCU writers to give Wanda a decent solo story that doesn't make her into a villain. Yeah, all the Disney plus shows are crap. Exactly.
Guest: Glad to hear it.
New York
Morning
Wanda was awakened by a pain in her side. Stifling a groan, Wanda opened her eyes, finding herself in unfamiliar surroundings. She was lying in an unfamiliar bed in a room with white walls. As she tried to figure out where she was, a voice spoke up.
"Good, you're awake," Wanda turned her head as a woman in a nurse's uniform walked into the room. "Your friend will be relieved."
"My friend?"
The nurse gestured over to the side and Wanda followed her finger. Unnoticed from before, Bucky was sitting in a chair towards the edge of the room, slumped over seemingly asleep. And then it came back to Wanda, she had been shot while fighting the Flag Smashers. Her last memory had been of Bucky picking her up and running out after Sam arrived on the scene.
"I'll go tell the doctor you're awake and we can get that wound looked at," the nurse said before she turned and walked out of the room.
"Welcome back," Wanda nearly jumped at the sound of Bucky's voice as he opened his eyes. "How do you feel?"
"Like I got shot," Wanda said honestly. "Have you been here all night?"
"So was Sam," Bucky said, to her surprise. "Neither of us trusted Ross not to come for you once he knew you were in the hospital, so we stayed just in case."
"And where is Sam now?" Wanda asked as she noticed his absence.
In another part of the hospital, Walker came to in an unfamiliar bed. As he tried to move, he felt his wrists trapped by something. Looking down, Walker saw that his hands were handcuffed to either side of the bed.
"Hey."
Walker looked up, seeing Sam sitting in a chair by his bedside.
"What are you doing here?" Walker sneered as Sam got to his feet.
"Standing guard. Ross had his men standing guard over you every few hours, I offered to let them go rest for a bit," Sam said as he walked over to him.
"You think you've won? Even if you stop me, there's hundreds more just like me," Walker sneered.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Sam said calmly, taking Walker aback. "When your guy in the helicopter opened fire, he killed one of your Flag Smashers in front of another. That Flag Smasher flipped, told Ross every known location of a Flag Smasher hideout. Ross has men putting together teams; they'll be raiding the hideouts in a few hours. And in case you were thinking of trying to escape, you've got two guards standing outside the door, ready to take you down. You're being transferred to The Raft tonight. Its over John."
For a long moment, it was silent in the room. Walker had an unreadable look on his face as Sam stared down at him. Then, the door opened and one of the guards walked back in.
"I see our Dark Avenger is awake," the guard noted as Walker glared at him.
"Go to Hell," Walker sneered.
"I think I'll settle for sending you there," the guard shot back before looking over at Sam. "I'll take over from here Wilson. Thanks for the break."
Sam nodded, sparing Walker one last glance before heading out. As he walked out the door, he met Ross and the mayor outside.
"Mr. Wilson, I'd like to thank you for all your help," the mayor said, holding out his hand to Sam.
"I was just doing my job sir," Sam said humbly.
"Does that job include being Captain America?" Ross asked with a dark look.
"If that's what it takes to keep the peace," Sam said as he looked over at Ross unapologetically.
"I believe that's my job," Ross said coolly and Sam laughed humorlessly. "Something funny Wilson?"
"You. That entire statement…is a joke," Sam said boldly. "Your job is the entire reason for the Flag Smashers to begin with. Two years ago, the UN brought the Accords into law. It wanted to control how the Avengers operated. It wanted to put powered people under its thumb. It forced us to choose between following the law and doing what was right. And now we're seeing the consequences."
"Compromise-"
"There was no compromise," Sam angrily cut Ross off. "It was an ultimatum. And that's the problem with men like you, with the world. You give ultimatums and if they aren't followed, you make the people who refuse into the enemy. We all spent so much time fighting each other that we weren't ready when the real threat came for us. John Walker may be a terrorist and a fanatic, but he was right about one thing: Thanos is our fault because we were too worried about petty problems like The Accords. We are all that is left of the human race and if we don't come together now, then there is no point in us surviving and Thanos should have killed all of us."
As Ross fumed, Sam realized that everyone around them had their phone out and had recorded the entire incident. After a moment of eying them all, Sam walked off, heading back towards Wanda's room to check in on her and Bucky.
Los Angeles
Later that morning
"Well, Falcon has a point," Lorne noted as he, Angel and Fred stood in Angel's office, watching the news, which was showing the clip of Sam's speech to Ross that had gone viral minutes after being posted on social media.
Angel was silent for a few moments before he picked up the remote and turned off the television.
"Before tonight…there are some things we still need to discuss," Angel said as Lorne and Fred turned to him. "Particularly if this doesn't go the way we want it to."
"You mean if you and Willow don't make it back," Fred said pointedly and Angel nodded.
"If we don't make it back, you guys need to carry on. Don't worry about us, focus on bringing everyone else back. Find a way," Angel said before turning to Fred. "If I don't come back, Fred, you're in charge."
"Me?" Fred asked in surprise and Angel nodded.
"You're the only one I trust who might be able handle this. I know you'll do what you think is right, which is all I can ask," Angel said before turning to Lorne. "If this doesn't work…Lorne, I want you to get out."
"What?" Lorne asked in surprise as Angel smiled sadly.
"Lorne, this place is killing you. I can see it because it's been killing me to. You deserve better. Just…get out," Angel told him kindly.
Lorne stared at him for a few moments, wondering how Angel had known as Angel got to his feet.
"And now, there's something else I have to do," Angel told them.
In the apartment Angel had provided for her, Willow was putting together her tools for tonight when she sensed someone lingering in the doorway. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Dawn.
"Hey Dawnie," Willow said gently as she put the candle down.
"Do you really have to do this? Isn't there another way?" Dawn almost pleaded.
Setting her items aside on a nearby table, Willow sat down on her bed, gesturing for Dawn to sit down next to her. After a moment, Dawn walked over, joining Willow on the bed.
"I know this is scary you. You've already lost so much. But there's no other way. I have to do this, we owe it to Buffy, Xander, Giles and everyone else we lost that day to try and bring them back," Willow paused, considering her next words. "I don't know what will happen once Angel and I cross over. But I can promise I will fight like Hell to come back to you and everyone else. That's the best I can offer."
"I know you have to do this…I just wish you didn't," Dawn said in a choked voice.
Silently, Willow wrapped an arm around Dawn as the younger girl buried her face in Willow's shoulder, clinging to the redhead as she sobbed.
Stanford
A little later
In a café on campus, Angel walked up to a table.
"Hi," he greeted.
At the table, Connor looked up, visibly surprised to see him.
New York
Same time
"Well, you got lucky Ms. Maximoff," the doctor said as he gave Wanda, Sam and Bucky her diagnosis. "The bullet didn't penetrate too deeply and you didn't lose enough blood for us to be concerned about. But we're going to keep you for observation to be on the safe side and no strenuous activity for the next week. But, you can go home tomorrow."
"Thank you Dr.," Sam said as he got to his feet.
"I'm the one who should be thanking you. You stopped those terrorists last night, who knows what they would have done if you three hadn't been there," the doctor said gratefully.
"Just doing our jobs, just like you," Bucky said and the doctor chuckled.
"Um, I don't have any insurance," Wanda said uncomfortably.
"The bills have already been paid by a Pepper Potts actually," the doctor said, to their surprise. "You must have some good friends Ms. Maximoff."
Stanford
Same time
"So, she was a Vampire Slayer? That must have been weird," Connor said as he and Angel talked.
"Complicated, unhealthy is more like it," Angel noted, grimacing as he reflected on his relationship with Buffy. "What about you? Seeing anyone?"
"Not anymore," Connor said and paused. "Look…I know you're my father."
"You got your memories back," Angel said lowly and Connor nodded.
"Yeah, they're mixed in there with the new ones. It's like a bad dream I had…a very strange and violent and, at times inappropriately erotic dream," Connor said after a moment of reflection.
"You must have a lot of questions," Angel said, bracing himself.
"No," Connor said, to Angel's surprise. "I get what you did. And I'm grateful. That's as far as I wanna take it, 'kay?"
"Yeah," Angel said, understanding and it was awkwardly silent for a moment. "So, what you workin' on?"
"I am applying for an internship. I'm supposed to write up a resume," Connor explained.
"Need any help?"
"Have you ever written a resume before? Ever?" Connor asked.
"No. But I have very nice handwriting," Angel said and Connor laughed.
"You girl," Connor teased him.
Hyperion Hotel
Night
As Willow began lightning candles, drawing something on the floor of the hotel, Angel, Fred, Lorne, Faith, and Dawn stood a few feet back.
"Where's Spike?" Fred asked as she noticed the absence of the blond vampire.
"Distracting Hamilton," Angel said simply.
Wolfram and Hart
Same time
Hamilton opened the door to Angel's office, walking inside to see it completely empty.
"They're not here," Hamilton looked over his shoulder to see Spike standing behind him.
"Where did he go?" Hamilton demanded and Spike shrugged.
"They don't exactly tell me these things. But enough about Angel. I'd much rather talk about you," Spike said and Hamilton raised an eyebrow. "What's that saying? I have a proposition for you."
Hyperion Hotel
Same time
"You're sure this will work?" Angel asked once Willow had finished setting up.
"This is the place where you reentered our dimension after going to Jasmine's. The hotel is still buzzing with the magical energy from the portal that opened up. It's perfect," Willow said as she got to her feet.
"So how does this work exactly?" Fred said as they watched Willow sprinkle some powder onto the circle she had drawn on the floor.
"Angel and I step inside the circle, I open the portal and we're good to go," Willow explained. "Angel, you ready?"
"I've been ready for three months," Angel said as he looked over at Fred and Lorne. "Remember what we talked about."
Fred and Lorne nodded, both looking on the verge of tears as Angel walked over to Faith.
"We don't make it back; you have to keep things afloat, alright?" Angel said gently.
"I'll do my best," Faith said.
The unsaid 'but it won't matter if you can't get back' hung between them. Deep down, they were all aware this was their last shot. If he and Willow didn't make it back, none of them were sure what else to do. But he couldn't think about that now.
Angel looked over to see Willow hugging Dawn tightly, the dark haired girl clinging to Willow. Willow lightly kissed Dawn on the forehead before untangling herself from the younger girl. Willow nodded at Angel and the pair stepped inside the circle as the others watched them nervously.
"You might want to step back," Willow advised them.
The four unconsciously took a few steps away from the circle as Willow took a deep breath. Willow held out her hands and began a chant. Inexplicably, a gest of wind rushed through the room and Willow's eyes opened, revealing pure white orbs as they glowed. The wind picked up and the powder began flying into the air. It swirled around them before forming a portal. The sound of thunder pierced the room as the wind became roaring.
"Now!" Willow shouted at Angel, her voice echoing.
Without another word, Angel grabbed her and jumped. They two plunged head first into the portal, which closed the moment they were inside. The wind and sounds stopped as everyone stared at the spot where their friends had been moments earlier.
On the other side of the portal, Angel and Willow emerged into some kind of temple. As Angel let Willow go, he looked around in bewilderment. Temples like these had been even before his time. It most closely resembled the pocket dimension where the Oracles he had visited resided.
"You're sure we're in the right place?" Angel asked.
'"Yes Angel," Willow said as she stared outside the temple.
Angel followed her gaze and his doubts vanished. He walked outside the temple and stared. There was no sun or moon. Just a bright, green sky. It was unlike anything Angel had ever seen.
"Welcome to the Netherworld Angel," Willow said, staring up at the sky with a look of serenity.
Wolfram and Hart
Same time
"You want anything to drink?" Spike asked, pouring some bourbon as he and Hamilton stood in Angel's office.
"What I would like is for you to explain your proposition," Hamilton said, putting emphasis on the last word as he glared.
"Down to business then. I like that about you," Spike said, taking a drink before turning back to Hamilton. "The Senior Partners are backing the wrong horse."
"Is that so?" Hamilton asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"I've known Angel a long time, with and without a soul. You've all spent so much time trying to corrupt him, to turn him to your cause. But you've overlooked something: you can't make Angel do something he doesn't want to do. I should know, I spent decades with the bastard before he got cursed," Spike said, sitting down at Angel's desk. "The big poof isn't one to be manipulated. He's usually the manipulator; he'll see whatever tricks you're trying to use coming a mile away. You'll never manipulate him into going bad."
"And why are you telling me this?" Hamilton asked curiously.
"Because I'm about to make you an offer," Spike said, taking another sip of his drink before continuing. "Angel has no interest in working for the Senior Partners. Me on the other hand…well, the Shanshu doesn't specify Angel by name, does it?"
"No, it does not," Hamilton said after a moment. "It says of a Vampire with a soul that plays a role in the apocalypse. Are you suggesting that you are that vampire?"
"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm simply pointing out that you'll never turn Angel. He's shown over and over again he has no interest working for the other side," Spike pointed out.
"And you do? Did you not try to go to your Slayer when the Decimation occurred?" Hamilton pointed out.
"She was my only reason for being good. But she's gone now and it doesn't look like she's coming back. So, I want you to take a message to the Senior Partners: why back the Champion who hates them when they can back the one that wants to work witg them?" Spike asked as Hamilton eyed him, intrigued.
The Netherworld
"Where exactly are we?" Angel asked as he looked around the temple. "I mean, I know we're in the Netherworld, but where?"
"I think we're in the temple beyond," Willow said. "When I was reading up on the Coven, it said this was their headquarters."
"Okay, then that begs the question where are they?" Angel wondered.
No sooner had the question left his lips than Angel cried out in pain. Willow whirled around in shock to see electricity strike him, pinning him to the wall. Suddenly, the pair were surrounded by figures in white cloaks.
"You have brought a vampire to our home," one of them told Willow in a voice full of scorn.
"No, I brought a Champion," Willow said defiantly. "We didn't come here to fight. We came to ask for your help."
"What she said," Angel said, groaning in pain as he was shocked.
For a moment, the Coven was silent. Then, the electricity faded and Angel fell to his knees.
"Man, you don't do things halfway," Angel said pained as he fell to his knees.
"Who are you?" one of them demanded.
"Her name is Willow Rosenberg. She's a witch."
Angel looked up as the startled Willow looked towards one of the cloaked figured as they stepped forward. They reached up, lowering their hood and all the blood drained from Willow's face.
"And the love of my life," Tara Maclay said as she looked at Willow like she was a vision.
Hyperion Hotel
Same time
In the lobby, everyone was still waiting uneasily for Angel and Willow. Suddenly, Faith's head whipped up and she shot to her feet.
"Faith?" Fred called out in confusion as they all looked at her.
"My Slayer senses are going off," Faith said uneasily.
"You mean when you can sense when something's about to happen? Buffy had the same thing happen," Dawn remembered.
Before Faith could respond, there was a spark of energy from the circle. A creature that resembled a flying manta with wings flew through the air, opening a mouth full of teeth. Faith pulled out a stake, throwing it but it merely impacted on its underbelly, flying off without a scratch. The group of four scattered as it flew passed them and Faith kicked it, sending it flying into the wall.
"What is that thing?!" Faith shouted as it shook it off, flying back towards Faith.
"It must be the consequence of opening a portal to the Netherworld. We had something similar happen when Angel tried to get Connor back," Lorne said as they all ducked again.
"Anyone have any weapons?" Dawn asked but received only shaken heads in return. "Great, just great."
The Netherworld
"Tara?" Willow breathed as she stared at Tara, sure she was hallucinating.
"Hi Willow," Tara said with a sad smile.
Tears welled in Willow's eyes as she stared at Tara. She'd imagined this moment so many times, dreamed about it, but she'd never expected to actually see Tara again.
Behind her, Angel looked at her in sympathy. While he didn't know much about Tara, he'd heard Cordelia mention Willow was seeing a girl. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out this was the girl.
"You have come to ask for our help. Ask," one of the Witches demanded.
"Three months ago, an alien warlord called Thanos used the six Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life," Angel said as he saw Willow wasn't capable of doing anything but staring at Tara. "We were led to believe that the stones were destroyed, but we learned otherwise. Our search for the stones led us here."
"We know," another Witch said and Angel blinked.
"You know? Then why haven't you done anything?" Angel asked annoyed.
"We have. Do you think it was a coincidence that Lilah Morgan pointed you in our direction?" Another asked and it hit Angel.
"You gave her the idea," Angel muttered and she nodded.
"We do not like to consort with the likes of someone like Lilah Morgan, but it is necessary," another said.
"Then why did you attack me?" Angel asked annoyed.
"We had to be sure," Tara said as she finally looked towards Angel. "This isn't the first time someone's come here unannounced. Plus, with the Senior Partners you can never be too careful."
"You know where the stones are," Angel realized.
"We have always known. They are part of the universe, we could sense what happened," another witch said.
"So where are they?" Willow asked, finally finding her voice.
Silently, Tara walked over to Willow and, to her surprise, pulled her into a deep kiss. Willow forgot all about the stones, returning the kiss as Angel watched in confusion. Then, his eyes widened in shock as Willow and Tara glowed brightly, nearly blinding. After a few moments, the glow faded from their bodies and Tara pulled back. Willow breathed heavily as Tara took her face in her hands.
"Do you understand?" Tara asked gently.
"Yes…I do," Willow said breathlessly.
Hyperion Hotel
Not long after
The lobby was a mess as the creature continued to attack. Fred, Dawn and Lorne were frantically searching for any weapons the team may have left behind as Faith continued trying to take down the creature. Since her stakes were proving ineffective, she was trying to use her bare hands to kill it without much success. Currently, she was lying on her back, gripping its wings as she tried to keep its snarling mouth away from her face.
Suddenly, a hand reached out, grabbing it by the tail and yanked it away from Faith. It went flying, slamming into the wall as Faith looked in shock at her savior.
"Haven't seen one of those in a while," Connor mused as he stared at it.
"Connor?" Fred asked in surprise as they all saw him.
"Hey Fred," Connor greeted with a wave.
"Uh, what are you doing here? Not that we're not glad to see you," Lorne asked.
"My Dad stops by for a cup of coffee and the world isn't ending? I followed his car from campus, figured there was trouble from all the noise," Connor said as the creature took flight once more.
"You know what this thing is?" Faith asked.
"Quor'toth was full of them. We need to tear of its wings to kill it," Connor explained.
"Music to my ears," Faith said with a smirk.
As the creatures moved to attack again, Faith jumped. Using the wall as a stepping stone, Faith landed on top of the creature. As it struggled to accommodate her weight, Faith grabbed both wings and yanked on them with all of her strength. There was a ripping sound and the creature wailed as Faith tore off its wings. The creature crashed into the ground, sliding across the floor before crashing into the reception desk. Faith, dazed, collapsed on her side as the creature took a few pitiful breaths before dying.
"Faith! You okay?" Dawn asked as she rushed to the Slayer's side.
"I've been better," Faith muttered.
Before anything further could happen, there was a bright flash of light. When it faded, Angel and Willow stood in the lobby at the spot where the portal had opened. As Angel looked around in shock at the state of the lobby, pausing briefly when he saw his son, Willow fell to her knees, a dazed look on her face.
"Willow? Will, what's wrong?" Dawn asked, rushing to her surrogate mother's side but Willow was unresponsive.
"Give her a minute," Angel said as he looked at Willow in sympathy.
"What happened over there Angel?" Fred asked as they all gathered in the center, looking at Willow in concern.
"I'm not completely sure I understand it myself. But the important this is we know what to do. We know where the stones are, and we know how to get them back," Angel explained.
And that concludes the second arc of the story.
Hope I did a good job on Sam's speech to Ross.
Those of you who suspected Tara was a member of the Coven of the Netherworld, you were right. And this will not be Tara's final appearance in the story, which is why her scene with Tara is so short. There's more to come.